Peter Lawford

A dashing and handsome English-American actor, Peter Lawford enjoyed a brief stint as a matinee idol in the 1940s before becoming better known as an in-law of the Kennedys and a member of "The Rat Pac...
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Actor and activist Christopher Kennedy Lawford has married his yoga teacher fiance in Hawaii. The Terminator 3: Rise of the Machines star, son of Rat Pack member Peter Lawford and assassinated U.S. President John F. Kennedy's sister Patricia, wed Mercedes Miller, 34, during a ceremony in Maui on Sunday (25May14).
The union is Kennedy Lawford's second - he divorced first wife Jeannie Olsson, the mother of his three children, in 2000, after 16 years of marriage.
The 59 year old isn't the only member of the famous Kennedy clan getting married this year (14) - his cousin, Robert F. Kennedy, Jr. is engaged to wed actress Cheryl Hines. The couple is reportedly planning to exchange vows this summer (14) during the Kennedy family's annual reunion in Hyannis Port, Massachusetts.

Elvis Presley's grand piano, pool table and soda fountain from his Holmby Hills estate in Los Angeles is set to hit the auction block next month (May14) as actress Debbie Reynolds continues to sell off her memorabilia collection. The three Elvis items have just been added to the upcoming Profiles in History Debbie Reynolds Auction, which is set for 17 and 18 May (14) at the Debbie Reynolds Dance Studio in North Hollywood, California.
Presley's Baldwin piano is expected to be one of the sale's highlights, and should fetch up to $15,000 (£9,375), according to the experts. His vintage carved wood pool table has a pre-sale estimate of $6,000 (£3,750) to $8,000 (£5,000), and bidding on the Anderson & Wagner, Inc. soda fountain will begin at $2,000 (£1,250).
The sale will also feature Charlie Chaplin's signature bowler hat, a The Rat Pack tuxedo ensemble, featuring stage outfits worn by Frank Sinatra, Dean Martin, Sammy Davis Jr., Joey Bishop and Peter Lawford, Vivien Leigh's Scarlett O'Hara bonnet from Gone With the Wind, and Grace Kelly's safari outfit from the 1953 movie Mogambo.

Authors Danforth Prince and Darwin Potter have spent years tracking down the scandalous details of the actress' romances and affairs and they have laid her love life bare in new tome Elizabeth Taylor: There is Nothing Like a Dame.
In the unauthorised biography, which promises "all the gossip unfit to print from the glory days of Hollywood", Prince and Porter claim Reagan was 36 when he invited a teenage Taylor to dine with him at his home in the Hollywood Hills - and she seduced him.
According to the book, she told a close pal, "Reagan was treating me like a grown woman, and that thrilled me. We sat on his sofa and I could tell he wanted to get it on but he seemed reluctant to make the first move. I became the aggressor.
"After a heavy make-out session on the sofa, we went into the bedroom."
The book's revelations about Taylor's fling with Kennedy will shock many readers - Prince and Porter claim a nude dip in the politician's pool turned into a threeway with Taylor and Stack.
The authors claim the actress went on to have sexual encounters with stars including Peter Lawford, Errol Flynn, Tony Curtis, Paul Newman and Frank Sinatra.
Her romance with Ol' Blue Eyes fell flat after she became too serious and allegedly told Sinatra she was expecting his child in a bid to blackmail him into marrying her.

A declassified memo from 12 July,1965 was released on Monday (14Jun10) and the note claims New York resident Jacqueline Hammond was in possession of "considerable information concerning sex parties" at Manhattan's fabled Carlyle Hotel.
Hammond claimed the alleged romps involved late icon Monroe, the former Rat Pack singers, Kennedy and his two brothers, former U.S. Senators Edward and Robert Kennedy, and the leader's brother-in-law, late actor Peter Lawford.
It is unclear how Hammond knew about the alleged events.
The files detail the extraordinary life of Edward Kennedy, who lost his battle with brain cancer last August (09), aged 77.
It also includes a report of several death threats made against the politician five years after his failed run for the presidency in 1980, following the assassinations of his older brothers, John and Robert.
Monroe's alleged affair with JFK has long been a topic of interest, amid speculation the pair enjoyed a fling before his death in 1963.
The infamous Kennedy dynasty has been immortalised on screen for decades, including Martin Sheen's portrayal of Robert Kennedy in 1974 TV movie The Missiles of October, 1990 TV miniseries The Kennedys of Massachusetts, and the star-studded 2006 movie, Bobby.

The Rat Pack star enjoyed an on/off romance with the Some Like It Hot actress until she died from an overdose of barbiturates in 1962.
Leading up to the tragedy, Monroe suffered a number of personal problems and illness - but her passing could have been prevented if Sinatra had intervened after she collapsed at his Cal-Neva Lodge resort in Nevada days before her death.
The Hollywood icon invited Monroe to stay with him at the venue, along with actor Peter Lawford and his wife Pat.
But the holiday turned sour when the fragile-looking actress started taking vitamin shots in front of the other guests, only to later breakdown in her room.
Instead of helping out, Sinatra ordered Monroe to be removed from his estate, according to new book, The Secret Life of Marilyn Monroe.
A security guard for Sinatra's Cal-Neva Lodge tells author J. Randy Taraborrelli, "She opened her purse and pulled out those syringes. I was standing right there with Mr Sinatra and Pat Lawford. Marilyn was very casual about it. She was looking for something else and just pulled them out and put them on the table... Then - and I had never seen anything like this before - she put a small hole at the end of the capsule, and swallowed it. 'Gets into your bloodstream faster that way,' she said."
Valet George Jacobs adds, "Frank Sinatra didn't know what to think about any of it. He was upset, though. He loved Marilyn, yes. But for her to maybe die at Cal-Neva while he was there? That would have been terrible. So he said: 'Get her out of here and get her out of here now.' And that was it. We had to do what he said. I mean, the woman was sick. But as compassionate as Sinatra was, he had a line and she crossed it."

Joey Bishop, the last remaining member of Frank Sinatra's infamous Rat Pack, has died. He was 89.
Bishop--real name Joseph Abraham Gottlieb--passed away on Wednesday night at his home in Newport Beach, California.
According to his publicist and longtime friend Warren Cowan, Bishop died of multiple causes.
He appeared with Rat Pack members Sinatra, Sammy Davis Jr., Dean Martin and Peter Lawford in Ocean's 11 and Sergeants Three.
Comedian Bishop was the last Rat Pack star alive--Lawford died in 1984; Davis Jr. in 1990; Martin in 1995; and Sinatra in 1998.
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Patricia Kennedy Lawford, the former wife of Rat Pack playboy Peter Lawford, died at her home in New York yesterday. She was 82.
The sister of assassinated President John F. Kennedy died from complications of pneumonia.
Kennedy Lawford was a Hollywood ‘it’ girl in the 1940s and 1950s and wed British actor Lawford in 1954.
In a statement, her brother, Massachusetts Democratic Senator Edward Kennedy, writes, "My sister Pat is irreplaceable. Everyone who knew Pat adored her. She was admired for her great style, for her love and support of the arts, her wit and generosity."
Article Copyright Entertainment News Network All Rights Reserved.

Better watch out, Harry Potter, because Danny Ocean is back on the job.
Forget three casinos in one night: Director Steven Soderbergh's remake of the Rat Pack heist romp Ocean's Eleven looks certain to steal the hearts and wallets of every woman in America this weekend. And there's not a single spell that mop-topped apprentice wizard can cast to keep George Clooney, Brad Pitt and Matt Damon from committing the perfect crime.
With Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone showing signs of fatigue in its third weekend, Ocean's Eleven looks primed to hijack the record for a December opening. The current record holder, Mel Gibson's What Women Want, opened last year with $33.6 million, on its way to $180.2 million. Women swooned over the sight of Gibson climbing into tights, so just imagine what the assembling of the sharp-dressed Clooney, Pitt, Damon, Andy Garcia, Scott Caan, Casey Affleck, Don Cheadle and, ahem, Carl Reiner will do. And, for the male contingency in the mood for something more than just razor-sharp banter and a parade of gadgets straight out of Q's lab, there's eye candy in the form of the underutilized Julia Roberts.
That the original Ocean's Eleven, released in 1960, doesn't rank as a beloved classic also means long lines are likely to form for the remake. The original seemed an excuse for Frank Sinatra to womanize, Dean Martin and Sammy Davis Jr. to croon a few songs, and Peter Lawford to hit the bar at the break of dawn. It coasted on its ability to unite the Rat Pack for the first--and most successful--time on the silver screen.
The remake veers significantly from the original, starting with the number of casinos hit in one night scaled back from five to three. Pitt may play Martin to Clooney's Sinatra (without bursting into song), but that's where the similarities end. Soderbergh offers a fun and jazzy remake minus a self-conscious nod to the days when the Rat Pack symbolized all that was hip and cool.
To this end, Ocean's Eleven could make more in its opening weekend than the $37.5 million that the first Soderbergh-Clooney collaboration made in total, the slightly more substantial Out of Sight. Ocean's Eleven also should give Soderbergh his third consecutive $100 million hit, following last year's Oscar-winning Erin Brockovich ($125.5 million) and Traffic ($124.1 million). Erin Brockovich, of course, earned Roberts an Academy Award this year, but it's unlikely that such a stylish but frothy caper shall enjoy Oscar gold without stealing it.
Though likely to drop only as far as to No. 2, Harry Potter could still take a hard tumble this weekend. Director Chris Columbus' adaptation of J.K. Rowling's literary smash-the first of seven films planned-dropped a troubling 59 percent in its third weekend, from $57.4 million to $23.6 million. Big earners tend to drop hard during the post-Thanksgiving week, yet Dr. Seuss' How the Grinch Stole Christmas still managed to log $27 million this time last year after a Thanksgiving take of $52.1 million. The Grinch also enjoyed a $18.6 million fourth weekend, but that seems a reach for young Mr. Potter. Harry Potter should fall to between $13 million and $15 million. Still, Harry Potter has amassed $223.6 million in its 20th day vs. The Grinch's $175.7 million, and should surpassed its total $260 million without the need to resort to magic.
Harry Potter does lag behind Star Wars: Episode One - The Phantom Menace, which made $259.6 million in its first 20 days. At this pace, Harry Potter looks certain to surpass Shrek's $267.6 million to become the year's top-grossing film, with between $300 million and $325 million its likely total.
America's renewed patriotism paid dividends for Behind Enemy Lines, with the Bosnian-set war drama reaping $22.1 million through Wednesday. That justifies 20th Century Fox's decision to push up Behind Enemy Lines's release date by six weeks in light of terrific post-Sept. 11 previews. (The same ploy failed for Black Knight, which Fox moved from mid-January to Nov. 21 with disastrous results.)
Owen Wilson, though, may find it easier to defeat an entire army of Serbian rebels than face 11 suave and sophisticated thieves. Like the similarly themed Spy Game, Behind Enemy Lines should experienced a second weekend drop of almost 50 percent.
Pitt may enjoy a huge opening this weekend with Ocean's Eleven, but it will come at the expense of his other new release, Spy Game. Director Tony Scott's globe-trotting thriller, with Robert Redford trying to save fellow spy Pitt from execution at the hands of the Chinese, dropped from $21.6 million to $11 million in its second weekend with the arrival of the more action-oriented Behind Enemy Lines. Pitt fans must now decide between seeing him bloodied and bruised or perfectly manicured with his matinee-idol looks in plain sight for once. Any guess as to which Pitt his fans want to spend the night with?
Still, Spy Game has $48.8 million through Wednesday. That's slightly behind Scott's previous foray into high-tech espionage, Enemy of the State, which earned $52.3 million in its 13th day of release on its way to $111.5 million.
France's Amelie continues to dazzle. The arthouse sensation has $7.5 million through Wednesday, having played at no more than 218 theaters. That bodes well for Amelie's chance of returning triumphant to Paris arm in arm with a fellow by the name of Oscar.
After a month-long rampage, Monsters, Inc. lost some of its footing in its fifth weekend with a 62 percent post-Thanksgiving drop. The Disney/Pixar adventure, with John Goodman and Billy Crystal providing the voice for two lovable, energy-producing monsters, has $205.3 million through Wednesday. Monsters, Inc. remains competitive with Shrek, which scared up $202.5 million during the same period of business. In order to drum up repeat business, Disney/Pixar will add new footage to Monsters, Inc. this weekend in the form of faux outtakes.
Interest in the strange love affair between Jack Black and Gwyneth Paltrow is on the wane, after a $4.5 million fourth weekend. Shallow Hal has $61.9 million through Wednesday, with a total $70 million a certainty. That's cause for celebration for directors Peter and Bobby Farrelly, who endured the failures of Osmosis Jones ($13.5 million) and Say It Isn't So ($5.6 million) earlier this year.
Bad luck still plagues Martin Lawrence, whose Black Knight is a far from noble box office combatant. The time-hopping comedy, set in medieval England, dropped 50 percent in its second weekend from $11 million to $5.5 million. This comes hot on the heels of the summer's What's the Worst that Could Happen?, which earned Lawrence his worst haul since 1995's Bad Boys made him a movie star. Black Knight looks set to make no more than the paltry $32.2 million earned by What's the Worst that Could Happen?, Black Knight has $23.6 million through Wednesday.

Now we don't know how George Clooney will stack up against the hep-cat cool of Frank Sinatra, but one thing seems to be certain: That planned "Ocean's 11" remake is shaping up to be quite an affair. Or is it?
If the casting reports in the Hollywood trades (and other sources) are to believed, the Steven Soderbergh-helmed remake -- based on the 1960 Rat Pack-packed caper flick about a group of 11 old war buddies bent on knocking over a bunch of Vegas casinos on New Year's Eve -- has done nothing short of locking up an A list dream cast. The much-ignored fact remains that only Clooney -- who's signed on to star as ringleader Danny Ocean (a role previously played by Sinatra) -- is committed to the project.
Bruce Willis What about the other meganames -- Brad Pitt, Julia Roberts, Bruce Willis and Michael Douglas included -- who have been linked to the heist flick in the past weeks? Well, while some of the aforementioned stars are indeed in talks to costar, others say they haven't even been approached by Warner Bros., the studio behind the remake.
And how do we know? Simple. We called their people and we asked. Here's our findings:
If they're in the film, they don't seem to know about it:
Bruce Willis: Last week, reports materialized stating that the actor was being courted by Warner Bros. to do a cameo as a casino owner. But when we called Wednesday to ask about if said courting was really going on, Willis' camp said: "To our knowledge, no."
Michael Douglas: Many unsubstantiated reports pegged the actor for the Peter Lawford role in the remake -- and the operative term here is "unsubstantiated." Per Douglas' publicist, "Michael has not been approached for 'Ocean's 11.' He hasn't seen the script, and no one has called him about it."
Don Rickles: The addition of the old-timer comic would've been a nice touch. But alas, it ain't so. "It's a great idea, but Don has not been approached to star in the pic," Rickles' rep told us. They're not in the film (yet), but they are in negotiations:
Julia Roberts
Julia Roberts: The "Erin Brockovich" star might indeed reteam with director Soderbergh for the project. According to her rep, Roberts is in negotiations to play Clooney's estranged wife (the old Angie Dickinson part).
Brad Pitt: Word has it that Pitt will likely fill the Dean Martin slot. While his people couldn't testify to the veracity of that info, they did confirm that the actor is in talks to costar in the flick. "No comment. I don't know!":
Johnny Depp: The "The Ninth Gate" star is among the many whose names have been tossed around randomly. Without dismissing or confirming the reports, the actor's rep simply declined to comment when we called. Too busy to talk:
Deciding not to take mere minutes out of their presumably busy lives, our calls were shunned by publicists for the following reputed "Ocean's 11" wannabes:
Mike Myers' rep Mark Wahlberg's rep Luke Wilson's rep Owen Wilson's rep

George Clooney impersonating Sinatra in Vegas?
Almost.
According to Daily Variety, the ex-"ER" do-gooder has inked a deal to star in the remake of "Ocean's Eleven," the 1960 Las Vegas heist flick that starred Frank Sinatra and his Rat Pack brethren (Dean Martin, Sammy Davis Jr., Peter Lawford and Joey Bishop).
The original film pitted the Rats as war buddies who scammed to knock-off Vegas Strip casinos at the stroke of midnight on New Year's Day. During production, Sinatra et al entertained the locals with a notorious string of late-night shows at the now-dearly-departed Sands.
While Clooney comes to the remake sans his own Rat Pack, he'll be joined on the project by at least one old crony. Steven Soderbergh, who directed Clooney in the stylish 1998 bank-robber flick "Out of Sight," has been tapped to helm the all-new "Ocean's Eleven," Variety says. (No word if he'll play Deano to Clooney's Sinatra.)
As of now, Clooney is the only actor associated with the flick. He's set to play Danny Ocean, the heist ringleader played by Sinatra the first time out.
According to Warner Bros., it might take a while for the studio to find the right actors to fill the other roles. Why? Again, Clooney ain't Sinatra -- he doesn't have a stable of Joey Bishop types at his beck and call.
Unless ... the old "ER" gang perhaps?
NEW MODEL FORD: Must have been the box-office egg laid by "Random Hearts."
Harrison Ford has officially ended his aversion to the Hollywood wheeling-and-dealing types. Variety reports today that the venerable leading man and longtime manager Pat McQueeney are looking for a talent agency to represent the actor.
Ford has been sans agent since he severed ties with the Gersh Agency 15 years ago. So why the sudden change of heart? Well, there was "Random Hearts," the big-budget romance co-starring Ford and Kristin Scott Thomas that fizzled at the box office last fall. But the story is the actor also wants tighter control over materials.
So what happens when Ford lets Hollywood knows he's back in the agent game? Hollywood comes a'courtin'. The actor and his manager reportedly already have had meetings with players from Endeavor, United Talent Agency and Creative Artists Agency.
Ford will be seen shortly in the Robert Zemeckis thriller "What Lies Beneath" and is currently in talks to reprise his role as Jack Ryan (for the third time) in the adaptation of Tom Clancy's "The Sum of All Fears."
LATE-BREAKING SOUPY SALES NEWS: It's official: Everyone has gone indie -- even Soupy Sales.
The erstwhile kids show host has been cast in the independent-minded romantic comedy "J.T. Foster's a Little bit of Lipstick," the Hollywood Reporter says.
Sales will play the director of the theater where the film's leading lady works. The project is scheduled to begin shooting next month in Connecticut.

Became an American citizen in order to vote in 1960 election for brother-in-law John F. Kennedy

Had travelled three times around the world by age 15

Film debut in "Poor Old Bill" (as a result of mother's political association with Sir Thomas Paulson who owned major interest in Elstree Studios)

Moved to Hollywood

Starred in and produced first TV series, "Dear Phoebe"

First major role in "A Yank at Eton"

First learned of scandal concerning his parents' divorce scandal and his own paternity

Joined Frank Sinatra's "Rat Pack"

US film debut (bit part), "Lord Jeff" at age 14

Returned to France where he appeared in several films

Worked as gas station attendant, then parked cars and became manager of the parking lot in West Palm Beach, FL

Summary

A dashing and handsome English-American actor, Peter Lawford enjoyed a brief stint as a matinee idol in the 1940s before becoming better known as an in-law of the Kennedys and a member of "The Rat Pack" during the 1960s. Benefitting greatly from the dearth of handsome male talent in Hollywood during World War II, Lawford gained notice for appearances in such films as "The Picture of Dorian Gray" (1945) and "Son of Lassie" (1945). More roles followed throughout the 1950s, although it was his marriage to Patricia Kennedy - sister of John and Robert Kennedy - as well as his association with Frank Sinatra's iconic cadre of carousers that brought Lawford lasting fame. Years after JFK's assassination, rumors about Lawford's scandalous adventures with the president, his being the last person to speak to a despondent Marilyn Monroe before her tragic death, and a bitter falling out with Sinatra, became the stuff of legend. Less glamorous was Lawford's decline in the film industry, several failed marriages, and chronic alcoholism. With the halcyon years of "Ocean's Eleven" (1960) far behind him, the aging actor made due with the occasional film role and guest turns on such TV fare as "The Doris Day Show" (CBS, 1968-1973) and "Fantasy Island" (ABC, 1977-1984). A bit player in a fascinating chapter of American pop-culture, Lawford would most likely be remembered less for his acting credentials than for the legacy encapsulated in author James Spada's unofficial biography, <i>Peter Lawford: The Man Who Kept the Secrets</i>.

born November 16, 1865; died February 15, 1953; knighted for heroism in WWI; appeared as character actor in 1940s films ("The Amazing Mr. Nordill", "The Suspect", "Kitty"); married May Bunny Aylen September 11, 1924 after birth of their son; was Ernest Aylen's commanding officer

May Lawford

Mother

born 1883, died January 23, 1972; married first husband Harry Cooper in 1902 (committed suicide); married second husband Ernest Vaughan Aylen (major in Royal Army Medical Corps); divorced Aylen in 1923 after birth of her son Peter fathered by Aylen's commanding officer Sir Sydney Lawford; Aylen gave name to May's son; married Lawford 1924; wrote column for London newspapers on her international travels in 1928; signed MGM contract in 1950 as an actor and consultant "on all things British"; appea

Robin Lawford

Daughter

born July 2, 1961; mother Patricia Kennedy

Sydney Lawford

Daughter

born August 25, 1956; mother Patricia Kennedy

Victoria Lawford

Daughter

born November 4, 1958; TV coordinator for Very Special Arts (affiliated with the John F. Kennedy Center for Performing Arts for the disabled); mother Patricia Kennedy

Christopher Lawford

Son

born on March 29, 1955; mother Patricia Kennedy; received a degree from Boston College Law School in 1983; has appeared on TV commercials and in films "Impulse" (1990), "Run" and "The Doors" (both 1991) and as a regular on the ABC daytime soap "All My Children"

Jean MacDonald

Companion

society reporter for "Honolulu Star Bulletin"; met while Lawford on route to film "Kangaroo" in Australia (1951); engaged 1952

Mary Rowan

Wife

Met during 1971 taping of "Laugh In" on which Lawford was a guest

Patricia Seaton

Wife

Together from 1976 when Seaton was 17; Married July 1984 in hospital where Lawford was operated on for bleeding ulcer, until his death Dec. 24, 1984; She co-authored The Peter Lawford Story (1984)

Education

Name

Notes

"Peter Lawford's tenure at MGM is one of the best examples of how an MGM contract could both elevate and sabotage a performer's career. Peter's association with the studio put him in some of the best, most expensive, most popular films produced in the United States in the 1940s. With few exceptions, however, his roles were secondary and demanded little more of him than that he look handsome and act charming.

"Peter was undeniably talented, and he showed promise when forced to stretch himself. But MGM had so many extraordinarily gifted performers that someone with relatively modest abilities, like Peter, was expendable. 'Most of the time I spent sunbathing in my backyard,' he said. 'Every now and then the postman would throw a new script through the front door which I'd be obliged to do whether I wanted to or not.'" --James Spada ("Peter Lawford: The Man Who Kept the Secrets" 1991)